By Emily Jones Savannah, Georgia is known for the large trees that line its historic streets, draped in Spanish moss. In early October, Hurricane Matthew took down many of those trees. As cleanup efforts continue, some locals are trying to save the trees from the wood chipper. At a large open…
How Dangerous is MFD Dust
I’ve run across shops and artisans who tend to avoid Medium Density Fiberboard, or MDF. MDF is an engineered lumber product made of sawdust bonded together with a urea-formaldehyde adhesive. When you work with MDF, the dust you release also contains this formaldehyde, which you may end up breathing. So…
How to make a dust collector with a wet-dry vac
You will find out very soon that even though making sawdust is necessary part of woodworking, it quickly becomes extremely annoying when its time to cleanup. In addition fine airborne sawdust can be dangerous to your health, especially when cutting some woods, treated lumber and artificial materials like MDFÂ which is…
Making a Stub Tenon joint using only a Table Saw
Frame and panel construction is one of the hallmarks of traditional woodworking. It’s the technique that’s frequently used in making doors and cabinet frames. Typically, a frame and panel is made by joining the frame with mortise and tenon joints. The panel rests in grooves cut along the edges of…
What causes Cupping in Lumber and What Can You Do About it
Cupping, which is warp across the width of lumber, is a natural event for wood, with the bark side of lumber shrinking more than the heart side (or side closest to the center of the tree). This fact means that perfectly flatsawn lumber cups the most; perfectly quartersawn does not…
